AfterDawn: Tech news

Latest news

AfterDawn: News

Another analyst speculates on Xbox Next

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Mar 2012 11:30

Another analyst speculates on Xbox Next Cowan & Company analyst Doug Creutz has weighed on the upcoming next-generation Xbox.

The analyst says he believes the console, codenamed Durango, will not launch until the fall of next year, and will include physical discs.

Many other analysts have speculated that the console will do away with physical game media and move to a digital-only platform.

Says Creutz's research note (CVG): "Although not yet confirmed by Microsoft, we believe the next generation Xbox console could launch in the fall of 2013. We believe a digital-only next-gen Xbox is unlikely given risks to both Microsoft's market share and the gaming ecosystem as a whole from any attempt to kill used games.

"However, we do believe that Microsoft may be targeting a cheaper physical solution in an effort to get the initial price of the box down and speed up new console adoption, which would be bullish for software publishers."


Microsoft recently noted that there will be no talk of the upcoming Xbox at this year's E3 or "anytime soon."




AfterDawn: News

Acer Iconia Tab A510 coming with Tegra 3 and Android 4.0

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Mar 2012 11:16

Acer Iconia Tab A510 coming with Tegra 3 and Android 4.0 First announced back at CES, the Acer Iconia Tab A510 is now official.

The powerful tablet will run on a quad-core Tegra 3 processor and be powered by Android 4.0.x Ice Cream Sandwich.

Acer will be launching the tablet in the U.S. and Canada, although the actual release date remains unknown.

Furthermore, the Iconia Tab A510 has a 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 display and a giant 9800mAh battery expected to offer 13 hours of battery life, longer than the Asus Transformer Prime and the iPad.

The other features are pretty standard, including dual cameras and 32GB internal storage.

Acer will undercut the price of the most popular 10-inch devices and sell for $450.




AfterDawn: News

British former owner of TVShack to be extradited to U.S.

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Mar 2012 1:10

British former owner of TVShack to be extradited to U.S. 23-year-old British student Richard O'Dwyer will be extradited to the U.S. to face multiple copyright infringement charges, despite never having been to the country.

The former owner and creator of TVShack's plight will set an unfortunate precedence in the UK, as others in the future can likely face similar charges. O'Dwyer, according to UK law, is completely innocent, but he will likely not be so lucky in the U.S.

TVShack was a streaming link aggregator site that hosted no content itself but linked to third-party sites, (like Megavideo), where users could stream unauthorized TV and movies for free.

Additionally, the servers were based in Sweden but the domain was under the jurisdiction of the United States. U.S. authorities can seize domains registered outside of the country because most, if not all registrars are based in the U.S.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has accused O'Dwyer of making $230,000 in advertising revenue from the site.

Despite never being to the U.S., the student now faces 5 years in an American prison.




AfterDawn: News

Google Play to add movie purchases?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 22 Mar 2012 9:32

Google Play to add movie purchases? According to Cnet, Google Play may be adding movie purchases in the near future.

The newly rebranded Android Market currently only offers movie rentals.

Sources within the film industry say Google has shown an interest in giving Android users a way to purchase films rather than just rent although nothing is set in stone.

The same sources say Universal and other major Hollywood studios are making it a requirement that Google also sell titles if they want to keep offering rentals.

If true, the Google Play store may have the first titles available this summer.

Earlier this month, Google rebranded its Music, Books and Android Market services under the Google Play banner, making a more centralized area for all your media needs.




AfterDawn: News

Vevo rolling out to 6 new countries

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 22 Mar 2012 9:17

Vevo rolling out to 6 new countries The popular music video distributor service Vevo has announced today it plans to expand to 6 new countries.

Says CEO Rio Caraeff (PaidContent): "This year we're hoping to launch in at least another six countries. Our big priority is to make the service more available in more countries."

Vevo is currently in the U.S., Canada and UK only.

It is unclear what the new nations to receive the service are, but Australia is one of the countries under consideration.

Vevo has been expanding to new partners over the past few months, including the Xbox 360, AOL and Yahoo, to complement their YouTube partnership. The service sees 3.5 billion views per month, with 30 percent coming from YouTube.




AfterDawn: News

iPhone 5 will have 4.6-inch Retina Display?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 22 Mar 2012 8:58

iPhone 5 will have 4.6-inch Retina Display? According to a South Korean media report, Apple's upcoming iPhone 5 will have a large 4.6-inch Retina display.

Current iPhones have small 3.5-inch displays, and Apple has been rumored to be introducing a larger phone for years now.

If accurate, the report states that Apple has already placed orders with suppliers for a late Q2 launch of the device.

It is unclear what resolution the retina display will be, but is expected to be full 1080p HD.

There is little known of the upcoming device except that the phone will use either the souped-up dual-core A5X or A6 quad-core processor and have an improved camera.




AfterDawn: News

AT&T reveals phones getting ICS

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 22 Mar 2012 7:54

AT&T reveals phones getting ICS AT&T has listed its smartphones that will be getting the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the coming months.

Those devices are the LG Nitro, Motorola ATRIX 2, Motorola ATRIX 4G, Pantech Burst, Pantech Element, Samsung Captivate Glide, Samsung Galaxy Note, Samsung Galaxy S II, Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket, and Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9.

The carrier made sure to note that it will take months for the updates to roll out to your device, but at least those are confirmed.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

T-Mobile USA to cut jobs

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 22 Mar 2012 7:33

T-Mobile USA to cut jobs T-Mobile USA has announced today that it is cutting 1900 jobs in the U.S. after it consolidates its call centers.

The consolidation should help reduce costs and help the carrier remain competitive among the other majors in the nation.

T-Mobile will slash the amount of call centers from 24 to 17 by June and that the cuts will affect 50 percent of the current T-Mobile call center staff in the U.S.

The centers to be closed are in Allentown, Pa.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Frisco, Texas; Brownsville, Texas; Lenexa, Kansas; Thornton, Colo. and Redmond, Ore.

Adds Philipp Humm, CEO and President of T-Mobile: "These are not easy steps to take, but they are necessary to realize efficiency in order to invest for growth."




AfterDawn: News

Facebook acquires 750 patents from IBM?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 22 Mar 2012 7:18

Facebook acquires 750 patents from IBM? According to a new report, Facebook has purchased 750 patents from IBM.

The patents will be used protection as the company defends itself from a new lawsuit brought by Yahoo.

USAT says the patents cover "technologies dealing with software and networking."

Yahoo recently sued Facebook over patent infringement, claiming the social networking giant infringed on up to 10 patents relating to advertising, privacy controls and social networking. Facebook rejected the claims and says it will defend itself in court.

Both IBM and Facebook declined comment on the purchase.




AfterDawn: News

Government sues AT&T over improper billing

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 22 Mar 2012 7:07

Government sues AT&T over improper billing The U.S. DOJ has sued AT&T, claiming the carrier improperly billed them for services that are used by deaf and hard-of-hearing subscribers.

Those users can place calls by typing messages over the Internet.

Explains USA Today: "The system has been abused by callers overseas who use it to defraud U.S. merchants by ordering goods with stolen credit cards and counterfeit checks. In response, the federal government ordered telecom companies to register their users.

The Justice Department lawsuit AT&T failed to adopt procedures to detect or prevent fraudulent users from registering. The government said the company feared its call volumes would drop once fraudulent users were prevented from calling on the system. The government reimbursed AT&T $1.30 per minute for every call on this system."


AT&T says they followed FCC rules for the services and was justified in getting their reimbursements. The DOJ, on the other hand, says 95 percent of the calls since November 2009 have been made by fraudulent users, many of which are from Nigeria.

Due to the Americans With Disabilities Act, the government must "ensure the availability of telecom relay services allowing the hearing- or speech-impaired in the U.S. to place phone calls." The service in question is Internet Protocol Relay.




AfterDawn: News

Twitter has 140 million active users

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Mar 2012 9:36

Twitter has 140 million active users Twitter has 140 million active users, although inactive accounts are much higher.

On the eve of the company's sixth birthday, the micro-blogging service boasted some stats including the active user rate. Those users also now send 340 million tweets per day.

While the active user rate is extremely high, there are 300 million inactive accounts, as well. Inactive accounts include accounts that have never tweeted or which have not tweeted in a year.

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey made the first public tweet six years ago to the day, writing "Just setting up my twttr." In the early days of the company, Twitter was known as "twttr."

In September, the company announced 100 million active users showing how quickly the platform is being adopted.




AfterDawn: News

The new iPad is on fire, literally

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Mar 2012 9:14

The new iPad is on fire, literally Consumer Reports has reported today that the new iPad runs a lot hotter than its predecessor, the iPad 2.

While playing games, the new iPad runs 13 degrees hotter than the iPad 2 playing the same game.

The firm used a thermal imaging camera to record temperatures, and the new iPad got as shockingly high as 116 degrees while playing "Infinity Blade II." Consumer Report's article follows numerous complaints around the Web of the iPad overheating when playing games, streaming movies or during heavy downloads.

Says Consumer Reports: "We ran our test while the new iPad was propped on the iPad Smart Cover, plugged in, and after it had run Infinity Blade II uninterrupted for about 45 minutes. The device's 4G connection was not turned on, though its Wi-fi link was. The ambient room temperature was about 72 degrees. (Apple recommends not using the iPad in environments over 95 degrees.)

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Windows Phone makes its Chinese debut

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Mar 2012 8:52

Windows Phone makes its Chinese debut Windows Phone has made it to the world's most populous nation.

The first device to reach China is the HTC Eternity (known as the Titan in the U.S.). The smartphone will come unlocked and pre-installed with "a slew of popular Chinese apps" and a Chinese user interface.

HTC will only have a small headstart, however, as Nokia will unveil three phones next week. Although it is still unknown which phones the phone maker is releasing, it is assumed one will be the Lumia 719, a slightly redesigned version of the Lumia 710.

ZTE, one of China's most popular smartphone makers, will also be releasing their "budget-friendly" Tango phone later in the year, as well.

The Eternity will have a hefty price tag of ¥4,000 ($632) but Nokia is likely to sell their devices for half of that price.




AfterDawn: News

Chrome surpasses IE as most used browser, for a day

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Mar 2012 8:32

Chrome surpasses IE as most used browser, for a day Over the weekend, Chrome finally dethroned Internet Explorer as the most used Web browser.

On Sunday, for a number of hours, Chrome was the most used browser in the world, taking 32.7 percent share. IE, the leader for the last decade, fell to second at 32.5 percent.

When Monday rolled around, however, and everyone went back to work, the numbers returned to IE, with the browser taking 35 percent to Chromes' 30 percent share.

The figures come via research firm StatCounter: "While it is only one day, this is a milestone. At weekends, when people are free to choose what browser to use, many of them are selecting Chrome in preference to IE."

Overall, Chrome kept a 31 percent market share for March, while Internet Explorer remains on top at 35 percent. Year-over-year, the trend is undeniable, as Chrome jumped from 17 percent share and IE fell from 45 percent.

Firefox, one of the most popular browsers in Europe, kept a steady 25 percent share.




AfterDawn: News

Here is the alleged Samsung Galaxy S III press shot, specs

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Mar 2012 8:17

Here is the alleged Samsung Galaxy S III press shot, specs GSM Helpdesk has the first alleged press shot of the much-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S III.

Alongside the picture came the alleged specs, as well, which are extremely powerful.

The new smartphone will be smaller and narrower than its predecessor at 131 x 64 x 8 mm. The device will weigh just 0.27 pounds, as well.

The featured specs are a large 4.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus display with 1280 x 720 resolution, a 1.5Ghz quad-core Samsung processor, 1GB RAM, Android 4.0.x, dual-cameras (12MP/1.3MP), 32GB internal storage and a decently sized 1750 mAh battery.

Recent reports have the device being launched in April although Samsung has not confirmed.





  Newer entries Older entries  

News archive